COACH K SEEKING MORE GOLD

According to most news sources on the planet, Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzydfvb4ski will return as head coach of the U.S. Olympic team.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Tuesday that "all leads point to Coach K coming back," following a report by the Boston Globe that Krzyxbnmj8ski has agreed to return as U.S. Olympic basketball coach.

The Globe report cited two sources close to the situation.

Colangelo said he was aware of the speculation regarding Krzybnht9ski, but wouldn't confirm a decision had been reached. However, he hoped the coach he picked in 2005 to guide the program would return.

"With the success that we had, I would do everything in my power to keep everything intact," Colangelo told The Associated Press.

"I'm a strong believer in not upsetting the apple cart."

The Americans plan to announce their coach at a press conference on July 21 or 22 in Las Vegas, before they open a minicamp for young players who are prospects to play in the 2010 world championships in Turkey and the 2012 Olympics in London.

ACC PULLS BASEBALL TOURNAMENTS DUE TO STARS AND BARS

And not the one’s in the sky or the one’s you get a cold beer from…

No, the ACC has pulled three conference baseball tournies from South Carolina because of the flag that flies over the state house in Columia. If you reside in the palmetto state, such a controversy is old, and at times frequent, news.

The ACC’s baseball tournament that was scheduled to be played in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2011, 2012 and moved them to NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C. (2012), and the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (2011, 2013). This gives championship a home through 2013 as it was recently released that the 2010 ACC Baseball Championship would be held in Greensboro, N.C.

The ACC put out a statement on July 6 announcing the decision and why the ACC is taking the action now. Apparently the ACC felt everyone in South Carolina was on board until the NAACP voiced some concerns.

"The ACC’s decision to hold the tournament in this location was made with the stipulation that discussions be held, and agreements made, with all local and state organizations that had voiced concerns over the confederate flag being flown on the state grounds of the South Carolina State Capitol," read the ACC statement.

"Since 2000, the conference has supported the NAACP’s statements concerning the flag issue and followed the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) policy of not holding pre-determined championships in the state of South Carolina…”

To read the entire statement, click here.

CHICK-FIL-A KICKOFF GAME A SELLOUT

There’s a joke in here somewhere about the Hokies playing in a game sponsored by a restaurant chain that serves chicken, but considering how they fared in their last opener against a S.E.C. powerhouse (L.S.U. in 2007), we thought we’d let it ride for now…Not to mention E.C.U. in 2008 which we aren’t going to mention…

Nonetheless, the game is a sellout. No public ticket sales will be necessary for the season-opening game between Virginia Tech and Alabama, as each school was allotted and completely sold through 31,200 tickets, Chick-fil-A Bowl officials announced Tuesday.

The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, a Chick-fil-A Bowl event, will match these projected preseason top-10-ranked powers Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. (ET) in the Georgia Dome.

The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

WHERE’S LANCE? The three leading men, From L, French cycling team BBOX Bouygues Telecom (BBO)'s leader Thomas Vockler of France, Italian cycling team Lampre (LAM)'s Marcin Sapa of Poland and Russian cycling team Team Katusha (KAT)'s rider Mikhail Ignatiev of Russia ride in a breakaway on July 8, 2009 in the 196,5 km fifth stage of the 2009 Tour de France cycling race run between Le Cap d'Agde and Perpignan.

(Photo by Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

PICTURE OF THE DAY 2

NICE DAY IN THE CAPITOL. A general view of the Swalec stadium during the first Ashes test between England and Australia in Cardiff, south-Wales on July 8, 2009.

(Photo by Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images)

IT'S A SLOW NEWS DAY...

Very slow...Not much happening out there to say the least.

However, Ken Tysiac of the Charlotte Observer has this news flash regarding Duke…

DURHAM — Junior forward Kyle Singler floated a possibility that seems to make sense for Duke’s unusually configured 2009-10 basketball team.

"What we’ve been talking about... is we might be playing a little more zone this year than in years past,” Singler said during an exclusive interview Thursday. “That might not be the way Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] wants to do it, but with the personnel that we have, we are a big team.”

Krzyzewski is known to disdain zone defenses and prefer a high-pressure man-to-man. But over the last three years or so, since he became involved with the U.S. Olympic team, Krzyzewski has softened his stance.

In 2007-08, Duke dabbled in a matchup zone Krzyzewski called “Orange” in honor of his close friend, Jim Boeheim. At Syracuse, Boeheim often uses a matchup zone to keep opponents out of the lane.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

THREE CHEERS FOR PUGGY BLACKMON

Look, we said up front it was a slow day…but, with the quasi-resurrection of David Duval’s golf game this seemed relevant…

Looking Back... Puggy Blackmon's Development of Georgia Tech's Golf Program

By Jim Sumner/theACC.com

Georgia Tech joined the ACC in time for the 1979-80 academic year and quickly found its challenges. Tech got beat on the basketball court, the football field, the baseball diamond. And the golf course.

The Yellow Jackets hired Homer Rice as athletic director in 1980 to turn around their moribund athletic program. He did just that, hiring such notables as Bobby Cremins, Bobby Ross, and Jim Morris. But he never made a better hire than golf coach William “Puggy” Blackmon.

Georgia Tech’s golf coach when Rice arrived was Tommy Plaxico, a physical education instructor and former Tech track star, an accomplished man in certain areas but not a golf specialist in a league that demanded specialization. After all, the competition included Jesse Haddock at Wake Forest, Devon Brouse at UNC, and Richard Sykes at NC State.

To read the article, click here.

TIGER WINS HIS OWN TOURNEY

After shooting a 67 and winning the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club by one stroke, Tiger Woods the golfer was interviewed by Tiger Woods the tournament host.

"I've always wanted to do this, so bear with me," Woods said, cradling the silver trophy in the shape of the Capitol.

"So, Tiger, how did you play today?" Woods said in a mock Q&A as thousands of fans broke into laughter.

“It was great shaking my hand today,” said Woods, whose closing round of 67 gave him a 13-under 267 total which earned him the winner’s check of $1,080,000.

Woods got what he needed at the par-5 16th, sinking a 20-foot putt that proved to be enough to beat Hunter Mahan who shot a course record-tying 62 on Sunday.

Mahan earned a mere $648,000 for his effort and early leader Anthony Kim faded to third earning $408,000.

Evidently, the recession hasn’t had that much of an impact on the PGA tour.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

CHAMPS. Roger Federer and Serena Williams during the Champions dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel Park Lane, in central London, on July 5, 2009.

(Photo by Bob Martin/AFP/Getty Images)